Sweet and Spicy Trail Mix

The other morning I made a big patch of trail mix. Basically for the mr for when we go camping, but that didn’t stop him from eating some, not camping, but watching tv. So you see trail mix is not just for the trail! HA

A big batch of snack for any snack related needs. This trail mix is a mixture of Chex and Cherrios, pretzels, walnuts and seeds, and dried cranberries all seasoned up with some maple and smokey and spicy chili. Sweet, savory, crispy, deliciousness. What else can you ask for when snacking on a trail mix? Nothing.

To the trail mix!

The stuff. A big ass bowl of cereal. I used Cherrios, and wheat and rice Chex. Also have pretzels. walnuts, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, maple suyrup, chili powder, melted vegan butter, and salt.

Mix together the melted butter, maple, an chili powder.

Drizzle the wet mixture all over the cereal and nuts (not the cranberries) and toss until evenly coated.

Dump the mixture onto a lined baking sheet and spread it out evenly and sprinkle with salt. Pop into hot oven and bake for 3ish minutes, removing and toss after 15. After 30 minutes, keep in oven but turn oven off and crack door. Let mixture cool in oven for 15 more minutes.

And once you pull it from the oven, toss in the cranberries .

That is it.

Now it is time for you to trail mix it up.

-C

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Sweet and Spicy Trail Mix

makes about 10 cups ( a good amount to share or have on hand for a week)

• 5 cups plain Chex cereal (wheat (if not gluten free) rice, and or corn)

• 2 cups plain Cherrios

• 2 cups pretzels (any shape will do and use gluten free if you need to)

• 1 cup raw walnuts

• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

• 1 cup dried cranberries

• 1/3 cup real maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (Optional. Adds a little more heat)

• 2 tablespoon vegan butter melted

• 1-2 teaspoons flakey sea salt

Preheat oven to 325.

In a large bowl, mix together all the cereals, the pretzels, the walnuts and sunflower seeds. In a smaller bowl mix together the melted butter, maple, and chili powder. Drizzle the wet mixture all over the cereal mixture and toss with a spatula until everything is evenly coated. Dump and evenly disputemixture onto a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

Place mix into preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, carefully removing from the oven at 15 minutes and mixing it around. At 30 minutes, keep in oven but turn heat off. Crack oven door and let mixture cool for another 15 minutes then remove and let cool completely. Once cooled, toss in the cranberries.

Eat however much you want and then store the rest on a airtight container. Should be good and crisp for a week.

Roasted Cauliflower with Capers, Pomegranate, and Walnuts

We have been eating a lot of cauliflower the past couple weeks. Cauliflower because who doesn't love it? But also because I froze a shit ton of it and found the stash in the deep freezer.

This is just a little something something that I have thrown together a few times and really enjoy. Basically a roasted cauliflower salad with yummy things and those yummy things are pomegranate arils, capers, and walnuts. It is fast, simple, and super delicious. A very satisfying and healthy salad situation. Perfect for winter.

Now to the cauliflower and stuff.

The stuff. Cauliflower (use fresh or frozen) pomegranate arils, capers, walnuts, a lemon, a splash of olive oil, and salt and pepper. There should also be a clove of garlic…where did it go?

Chop cauliflower into bite sized pieces.

Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and place into a preheated oven.

Rough chop walnuts and mince garlic while cauliflower is roasting.

Once the cauliflower is nice and roasted, pull pan out and toss on the garlic, walnuts, and capers, and pop the pan back into the oven for a few more minutes to slightly cook the garlic and toast up the walnuts.

And then you pull it out of the oven, dump it all into a big bowl, toss in the pomegranate arils, squeeze some lemon on top, and add pepper and a pinch of salt if you need it.

That is it. Now eat it.

-C

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Roasted Cauliflower with Capers, Pomegranate and Walnuts

• small head of cauliflower (or a lb of frozen)

• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils

• 2 tablespoons capers

• a handful of walnuts

• olive oil

• a clove of garlic

• salt and peper

• juice from half a lemon

Preheat oven to 450

Chop cauliflower into bit size pieces and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and then place in oven and roast until nice and brown, usually about 25 minutes.

While roasting, roughy chop walnuts and mince garlic.

Once cauliflower is roasted, remove pan form oven and toss in the minced garlic, chopped walnuts, and the capers. Pop back into oven for about 5 more minutes just to slightly cook the garlic and toast and warm up the walnuts and capers. After those 5 minutes, remove the baking sheet and transfer everything into a bowl. Add in the pomegranate arils, squeeze in the juice of the lemon , and season with salt and pepper.

Then eat it.

Warm Balsamic Delicata, onion, and Kale Salad

Let us talk about how winter squash is like one of the best foods ever. Seriously. Hardy, creamy, rich, and full of the nutty, sweet flavors of all the good things. How anyone says they don’t like winter squash is beyond me. I sometimes even feel like I put myself in danger of exploding when I am around enough cooked squash. I can eat and eat it until it’s gone, which is fine if it’s a serving or two, but when you roast up a 10 pound butternut, well, that is when the danger is real. I am getting better at holding back, but man, sometimes I just can't (or don’t want to?) help myself. ( You might also wonder why I cook 10 pounds of squash at a time. It’s because I will eat it all in a few days and I might as well cook a bunch at once, for efficiency sake.)

Now the delicata squah. If you haven’t had it before, stop what you are doing and go get one. You need to try it because it is amazing. Sweet, nutty, creamy. So good! And another good thing is that they are not giant, so you can buy one and eat the whole thing and not worry about overeating until you can’t move, unless that is the goal. In that case, just buy a bunch. HA.

Anyway, it’s getting to that time of year where salad is still great, it is just great warm. And with winter squash. Don’t you agree? So we cook up the squash, grab the kale and make one heck of a salad to eat all to your face. Because that is what will happen. You will make it , taste it, and not want to share it. It is too good to share. (Yes salads can be too good to share, so if you are planning on feeding others, plan accordingly)

To the salad!

The stuff. Kale, a delicata squash, red onion, some balsamic vinegar, a touch of maple, spicy brown mustard, a handful of toasted seeds, and salt and pepper.

Start with the squash. Cut it in half and scoop seeds from booth sides (these seeds are great roasted). After deseeded, cut both pieces into 1/4-1/2 inch thick rounds. And NO!!!!, do not peel the skin.

Grab the onion and cut into 1/4 inch rounds too.

Place the squash on a very lightly oiled baking sheet so the pieces are not overlapping each other. Then toss on the onion which is fine if it overlaps. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and lots of cracked pepper and pop into a hot oven.

In the meantime, mix the dressing situation together. Mustard, maple, and balsamic in a jar, mix and done.

Chop the kale too. Into mouth sized pieces.

Once squash is cooked all nice and tender, remove pan from oven. Take all the kale and toss on top then take the dressing and drizzle it all over the kale. Pop the pan back into the oven for a minutes or two, just until the kale starts to ever so slightly wilt.

Pull the pan back out and give it a good toss.

Dump it all into a big bowl, toss in the toasted seeds, and call it. Now grab a fork and start eating.

-C

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Warm Balsamic Delicata, Onion, and Kale Salad

Can be a main dish for 1 or a side for a few

• 1 delicata squash

• 1 bunch of kale (around 3/4 pound)

• 1 smallish red onion

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 -2 teaspoons maple syrup (more for a slightly sweeter, maple-y flavor)

• 2 tablespoons brown or dijon mustard

• 1/4 cup toasted seeds of choice (I used pumpkin and sunflower)

Preheat oven to 400

Cut delicata squash in half and scoop out all the seeds (you can save seeds to toast up later if you want), then slice the squash into 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick rounds. Grab onion and cut into thin slices. Take onion and squash and place them onto a very lightly oiled baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Don’t let the squash overlap, but it is fine for the onion to overlap the squash and itself. Pop the pan into the oven and bake until the squash starts to brown and is fork tender, which should take about 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime, chop kale into small mouth sized pieces and set aside. And mix the balsamic, mustard, and maple together to create the dressing.

Once the squash and onions are cooked, toss the kale onto the pan and drizzle the whole thing with the balsamic mixture. Toss it all around and pop pan back into oven for another minute or two, just to let kale get a touch wilted.

Remove pan from oven, dump everything from pan onto a plate, and toss in the toasted seeds.

Grab a fork. Eat.

Millet with mushrooms, onions, Greens and a mustard vinaigrette

Salad season is here. Green salads, fruit salads, potato salads, and grain salads. All the salads and we are not mad about it.

This is a good grain salad using millet, which I am sightly surprised to hear that a lot of people have never had. Millet is kind of like quinoa, but not. I cooks fluffy and looks kind of the same, and is gluten free like quinoa. I think the biggest difference is that millet is slightly softer and tastes a bit more nutty. It also is really good at absorbing liquid flavors.

But who are we to compare. The main thing is that it is nutritious and delicious so we will eat it.

Back to the salad. This is one of those grain salads that is good cooked and served warm but only gets better with a little age (like an hour or a day) in the fridge. Served hot or cold or room tempature, and is hearty enough to be meal like but is also a fantastic addition as a side to any of you meal plans. Like maybe a BBQ? Whatever the occasion, or non occasion, this is just a really good grain salad situation and I think you will be pleased, smiling all smiles while eating it.

To the millet salad.

The stuff. Millet, a couple handful of greens, a few mushrooms, an onion, dijon mustard, a little maple syrup, red wine vinegar, a lemon, a couple cloves or garlic, some toasted sunflower seeds, and salt and pepper.

Start by giving the millet a little toast, just enough to really up the nutty flavor and make it that much more yummy. It only takes a few minutes in a skillet on medium heat. Not an entirely necessary step, but you should do it.

Toasted millet goes into pot with water. Bring pot to a boil and then turn to the lowest simmer and cover.

While millet is cooking, get to the mushrooms and onions. Chop the onion thin and small and the mushrooms thin and small as well. Place them into the skillet with a drizzle of oil and place on medium heat. Mix around every now and then and cook until the mushrooms and onions are soft and a nice golden brown.

And make the vinaigrette. Minced garlic, mustard, vinegar, the juice of the lemon, and maple syrup get put into one place.

Mixed and now all is one.

Millet. Cooked and fluffed and ready to go.

Cooked mushrooms and onions go into the pot, along with the greens, the sunflower seed, and the vinaigrette. This step can be right away or you can wait a little while for things to cool as to not wilt the greens. Up tp you.

Mixed with love and hunger.

Even if you are making it ahead of time, just do yourself a favor. Grab a bowl, grab a fork, and get down on it.

-C

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Millet with mushrooms, onions, Greens and a mustard vinaigrette

Seves 4-6

• 3/4 cup uncooked millet

• 2 cups water

• 1 sweet onion

• 3-4 big button mushrooms

• Large handful or two of bitter greens like arugula, spinach or a mixture.

• 2 tablespoon brown or dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

• 2 cloves garlic

• salt and pepper

• handful toasted sunflower seeds

To start, toast millet. Dump the uncooked millet into a pan and place on a medium heat tt for about 5 minutes or until you start hearing the millet crackle.This gives the millet a slightly more nutty flavor but you can skip this step if you don’t care.

Dump millet and water into medium pot. Place on high heat until water starts to boil then tun heat down to simmer and over. After about 15 or 20 minutes, when most of the water is gone, turn pot completely off. Let sit, covered for another 10ish minutes then take a fork and fluff it.

While the millet is cooking, cook the veggies. Grab the onion and slice it up into thin pieces. Clean off the mushrooms and chop them into small thin pieces too. Place the chopped stuff into the skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on a medium heat. Stir occasionally and cook for about 15 minutes or until the onion and mushroom are a nice dark, golden brown.

And make the mustard vinaigrette. Mince garlic and place into a jar or bowl with the vinegar, the mustard, the maple, and the juice of the lemon. Mix and set aside.

Once the millet is cooked, the mushrooms and onions are cooked, and the vinaigrette is made, all you have left to do is mix everything together. You can do this while things are slightly warm which will wilt the greens a bit, o let them cool so the greens stay fresh. Up to you. (I like the greens fresh)

Finally, dump cooked mushrooms and onions into pot with cooked millet. Add in the greens and sunflower seeds and drizzle the vinegertte all over. Toss around until fully mixed. Sprinkle with lots of fresh cracked pepper.

Then eat. Or place in a container to bring to the BBQ.

Pomegranate Orange Poppyseed Muffins

I love pomegranates but barely ever buy them because they are usually really expensive. A few weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised to find that that the grocery store was selling them at a reasonable price so I bought one. Duh. Anyway, that was a few weeks ago and I have had the pomegranate chillin in the fridge, just waiting for the perfect time to bust open and retrieve all the bright pink jewel like seeds. But I also kind of forgot about it. It was hiding behind a giant rutabaga. When I finally grabbed the rutabaga for some soup, the pomegranate reviled itself again. It was time, it needed to be eaten. And me being me, I can’t not share right? So I asked the mr what he wanted me to bake. He said muffins, and that is how I came to pomegranate orange and poppyseed muffins. Look at me, poster child for sharing good things. I should get a gold star!.

Anyway, these muffins came out awesome. First, they smell so good because anything baked smells good but the orange really shines and the smell is still lingering in my hair. Secondly, people really were into them. The mr said they were amazing when I finally let him eat one (two actually because I made them mini) and when I brought them over to Megans house for dinner, my Dad at one, then two, then three.. ..He stopped at 5, and this was after dinner. When a guy eats 5 muffins and is not a muffin man, you take it as a good sign.

Do yourself a solid this cold ass weekend and bake something. These muffins are a good place to start.

To the muffins!

The stuff. Flour, baking soda and powder, and salt in a bowl. Poppy seeds, an orange, a pomegranate, sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and a little apple cider vinegar.

First, remove arils from the pomegranate. Cut the fruit in half, hold the cut side face down in your hand and place over a large bowl. Take a wooden spoon and wack the outside of the fruit and the seeds will just fall out. And yes , the juice stains so watch out.

Next, whisk together all the dry ingredients and add in the sugar, poppyseeds and the zest of the orange. Whisk again to combine.

And then add in the oil, milk, vanilla, and the juice of the orange.

Mix until just combined. Don’t over mix or the muffins will get gummy.

Last but not least, fold in the pomegranate arils.

Such a pretty muffin batter.

Scoop batter into well greased muffin tins and pop into a preheated oven.

Orange and crimson and golden brown goodness.

Out of tins and onto a rack to cool

Pretty muffins

And now you eat.

Stay warm this weekend and bake some muffins.

-C

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Pomegranate Orange Poppyseed Muffins

makes 24 mini muffins or 12 regular muffins

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/3 cup canola oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 cup soy or plant based milk

• 1 orange

• 1/4 cup poppyseeds

• 1 cup pomegranate arils

Note. To easily remove arils (the seeds) from a pomegranate, cut it in half, hold the cut side down in the palm of your hand over a large bowl and wack the outside of the fruit with a wooden spoon. The arils will fall right out into the bowl.

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Zest the orange into the bowl and add in the poppyseed and whisk. Next add in the oil, juice of the orange (about 1/4 cup) the milk, and the vanilla. Mix until just combined. Fold in pomegranate seeds.

Scoop batter into well greased muffin pans and place in oven to bake until golden brown and a tester stuck into the muffins comes out clean, which should take about 15 minutes (22 fish if normal sized)

Once baked, pull form oven and pop from pans. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Eat at your leisure.